More than 1,000 runners took part in “Run Wild for the Orangutans,” a 5-kilometer race that was the centerpiece of the Birmingham Zoo’s 4th annual Zoo Run that was staged May 16 to benefit the Orangutan Conservancy.

The race, which wound through the zoo grounds in central Alabama, was organized by the Birmingham Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK).

“It was a huge success and we are very happy to be able help the Orangutan Conservancy,” said chapter president Patti Frazier, a primate keeper at the Birmingham Zoo. “We are pleased to be able to make a direct link to this conservation effort and engage the Birmingham Zoo’s public.”
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The Orangutan Conservancy, which has promoted the conservation of wild orangutans and their rainforest homes for a decade, will focus on the level of care at rehabilitation centers when it stages the Orangutan Conservancy (OC) Veterinary Workshop from August 5-9 in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The workshop will bring together veterinarians and technicians who care for orphaned orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo for a week of intensive training, seminars, and practical sessions.

More than 1,500 orangutans currently exist in rehabilitation centers, and many bears the physical and emotional scars of their capture. The OC Veterinary Workshop will address many of the injuries and illnesses that are unique to orphaned orangutans.

The OC Veterinary Workshop will be staged in collaboration with zoos in Europe and the United States and other OC partners in the Orangutan Crisis Coalition.

The OC Veterinary Workshop will also address emerging infectious diseases, and the health standards necessary to consider reintroducing any of the orangutans back into the wild.
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